Eleanor Roosevelt:

Her thoughts and “My Day”

What was “My Day”?

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a daily column for papers all over the U.S. and Canada

She wrote six days a week from 1936-62, even when sick.

She wrote it for 26 years

What were some events

between 1936 and 1962?

She wrote about. . .• Her activities as

First Lady, wife, mother and grandmother

• Her reactions to events like Pearl Harbor

• Her travels all over the U.S. and the world

The first First Lady to fly a plane

She gave her views. . . • On politics,

civil rights, equal rights, international affairs, poverty and more – especially when she disagreed with FDR!

Who read “My Day”?

“My Day” appeared in200 newspapers, usuallyon the “women’s page.”

Over 4 million peopleread it, making ER one of the most successful columnists in the U.S.

What did readers think?

Mrs. Roosevelt received about 1,000 letters a week about her column. Most were positive.

She made sure every letter was answered.

Children wrote, too

Every letter was answered

She wrote for “regular people.”

She had a friendly, personal writing style.

She was not afraid to express strong opinions.

Why people liked “My Day”

Some hated it because…

They thought it was poorly written—some people wrote to correct her grammar!

They didn’t like her political or racial views.

How did ER write?

She wrote wherever she was—in a car, plane, train, ship or hotel room. She wrote one column while she was at FDR’s inaugural.

Then off it went by telegraph to make the deadline.

She either dictated to her secretary or typed it herself. Then she would edit her draft by hand for her secretary to retype.

This newspaper photo of her in a plane with Tuskegee Airman “Chief” Anderson appeared in 1941, when most people didn’t think African Americans could learn to fly.

She also used media . . .

She was the first First Lady to hold press conferences in the White House, and only permitted women to cover her.

. . . To make a point . . .

. . .To expose conditions

“For gosh sakes, here comes Mrs. Roosevelt!”

But wait, there’s more

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote 7,000 My Day columns . . .

. . . And 17 books . . . 2,000 magazine articles. . .

She went on radio. . .

. . . At least once a week for 20 years and had her own show three times. She didn’t like her “funny” voice and took vocal coaching in the 1920s.

. . . And on TV

She appeared on TV dozens of times in the 1950s.

“Today with Eleanor Roosevelt” appeared on NBC for 2 years beginning in 1950, and “The Eleanor Roosevelt Show” appeared monthly on public television from 1959 until her death in 1962.

The last word

“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight, just a step at a time.”

“I have never felt that anything really mattered but the satisfaction of knowing you stood for the things in which you believed, and done the very best you could.”

“First Lady of the World”

“No, I have never wanted to be a man. I have often wanted to be more effective as a woman, but I never felt that trousers would do the trick!”